Live Show: Paleface Swiss prove they have no limits in Bristol, Uk.
- magscenee
- Jan 20
- 4 min read
Paleface Swiss, a band formed in Switzerland and known for their genre blending unique mix of deathcore, hardcore and beatdown music is the type of concert you’d expect to catch on Friday night, not a Sunday! They are, however, exactly the band you need to get ready for the coming week! Fresh off of releasing their latest EP “The Wilted” at the start of the year, it was clear they were ready to get back to touring and performing in front of a crowd.
Sunday night in Bristol started with two incredible support acts in ‘Stick To Your Guns’ and ‘Static Dress’ who each not only hyped up the crowd and got the crowd surfers and moshpits started, but set the perfect atmosphere for what a packed audience had shown up and waited outside in the pouring rain for.
Once it was their time to take the stage, darkness fell and there was a slow building intensity and ambience, the crowd was ready to get started and Paleface Swiss intended to start the night exactly as it would continue. From the second they came out to perform, Paleface Swiss brought instant passion, excitement and movement to the crowd, with everyone singing along and getting off their feet. At just two songs in, lead singer Marc “Zelli” Zellweger told the crowd to “f-ck the rules” of no crowd surfing. Not long after the band performed “Nail to the Tooth”, a clear fan favourite that got the moshpit pushing forward and bouncing back with how many people were continuing to join in together.
Following this, they performed “Withering Flowers”, one of their newly released tracks and Marc told the audience this EP was all about showing emotions, something he would encourage the crowd to do throughout the night in a healthy, safe and loving environment. “Grab the new Paleface fans by the hands, drag them into the middle and show them what a good time looks like”, the band is well known for its inclusivity of everything and this really is a highlight you feel in the atmosphere of their shows. People listened, the audience came together with their fists raised in the air in unity during “Best Before Death” before beginning another circle pit, this was the moment when even fans who were standing up and watching on from the balcony made their way downstairs and joined in the pit. This wasn’t the only circle pit throughout the night, they only continued to grow in numbers particularly for songs such as “The Gallows” and “Enough”. Each time with the band reminding everyone to have a great time, but to be safe and to support everyone around them - a beautiful message often forgotten when people think about metal shows.
There is something to be said about a band that can not only control an audience, but can also encourage and engage with them. This was evident when they asked the audience who were returning fans and people who had been waiting for them to return to the UK. Paleface are certainly one to listen to their fans, as they brought back “The Orphan, a fan favourite from the album “Fear & Dagger” that hasn’t seen the setlist for awhile and unsurprisingly, it did not disappoint as fans sung along to every word, crowd surfers continued and it seemed like the fans would never get tired.
With a mix of new and old songs such as “The Rats” (2020), “My Blood On Your Hands (2025), and “Let Me Sleep” (2026), it was evident whether fans were new or old, everyone had listened to Paleface Swiss’s discography thoroughly and come prepared. These songs united the audience in exactly what the band wanted, letting their emotions out and truly feeling, exactly the point of the latest EP.
Metal shows aren’t all about crowdsurfing and circle pits though, songs such as “Everything is fine” and “Rivers of Sorrow” brought moments of calm, intense focus and even an acoustic guitar to the stage. Here people climbed on the shoulders of others, they embraced friends and partners and took a moment to remember what life is about and that music is here to bring people together. Before ending the night, Stick To Your Guns returned to the stage to perform “Instruments of War” with Paleface Swiss, a single they wrote, recorded and have performed together.
They finished the night with “Please End Me”, this is their biggest song and was never meant to be released, continuing from the rest of the night the crowd screamed, they danced, they moshed and they ended the show as it started; filled with energy and love. Paleface Swiss did exactly what any headline act should do, they gave the people what they wanted and even more than they expected. This was a prime example of a metal show where everything goes right and new and old fans, or people hearing them for the first time will return but there are not many bands out there who, even between songs, speak to and captivate an audience so beautifully and on a human level.
Paleface Swiss are finishing off their "The Wilted Tour" over in Europe with 16 more dates, including a hometown Zurich Show, & are set to tour North America supporting Lorna shore in April & May which is set to be a lineup for the books and as an act, you will not want to miss them!
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